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Glen Cove school chief Joseph Laria abruptly resigns
The superintendent of the Glen Cove School District -- which is under scrutiny because of an alleged cheating scandal -- abruptly resigned Thursday, seven weeks before he planned to retire.
The board accepted Joseph Laria's resignation at a special meeting Thursday night. Asked by phone Thursday afternoon about what prompted his departure, Laria said only, "I can't say at this time."
The resignation came a day after Laria allowed a 16-year-old student to drive his car with two other students in the backseat, a source said. Teachers who saw the incident were outraged, sources said.
A 17-year-old Glen Cove High School junior said he observed the incident Wednesday morning. He declined to be identified, but his legal guardian permitted him to talk.
Sitting in math class and looking out the window, he saw Laria and three students get in the superintendent's Lexus -- with one of the students behind the wheel. They rode around the parking lot for about 10 minutes, he said.
A spokeswoman said the district "acknowledges and is disappointed" by the incident. She declined to provide details.
Several parents who attended last night's meeting demanded an investigation.
"There has been some serious damage done to our community and ultimately to our children," Zefy Christopoulos said of the district's continuing problems. "We really have to heal."
Trustee Barrie Dratch called for a probe into Laria's conduct, telling the three dozen people assembled, "I promise you that this won't go uninvestigated."
Board president Joel Sunshine, citing legal restrictions, said he could not address the allegations against Laria. The board received an email from the superintendent Thursday morning and called an emergency meeting to act on his request to resign, Sunshine said.
Laria was appointed interim superintendent of schools in spring 2010. He was unanimously appointed superintendent halfway through the 2010-11 school year.
The board said in a statement that Laria "expressed deep regret for his departure, and assures us that he will remain available to assist as necessary during the leadership transition period."
Assistant Superintendent Louis Zocchia was appointed acting superintendent through June 30. The board had earlier selected Maria Rianna to serve as its next superintendent, starting July 1.
Laria's resignation comes at a difficult time for the district.
Allegations of teachers improperly coaching students on state tests at two elementary schools have expanded to alleged grade-changing on two 2012 Regents exams at the high school. The Nassau County district attorney's office is investigating.
Sources in the district told Newsday last month that any professional misconduct could potentially result in penalties ranging from reprimand to suspension without pay to firing after an impartial hearing mandated by state education law.
The district, which received subpoenas seeking information about alleged improper test coaching by teachers at the Margaret A. Connolly and Landing elementary schools last spring, vowed to "cooperate fully" with any investigation.
In another surprise development Thursday, the district announced that Glen Cove High School Principal Joseph Hinton was being replaced.
Hinton has been "absent" and will remain so for the duration of the school year because of an undisclosed illness, officials said.
He has not been publicly linked to any improper activity, but sources close to the case have said the probe into alleged changing of Regents exam grades involves at least two administrators -- a principal and an assistant principal.
Roseann Cirnigliaro, the former principal at Port Jefferson High School, was named the high school's acting principal.
With Joie Tyrrell and John Hildebrand


text:
Flock Star
About This Card
Personalize and send our Flock Star card made with seed paper and watch it grow into a living herb, vegetable or flower. You choose the seeds!
You can set for next day mailing or schedule in advance to send at a later date.
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Sent with USPS First Class™
Measures 4.25" x 5.5"
Embedded with Plantable Seeds
Made with 100% Biodegradable Material
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No, you can plant a small portion that contains seeds and the card will grow will grow with proper care. This means you can save your letter while also growing your plant. Just make sure the portion you plant has seeds.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
GWR Record Attempt FlyerIans Guinness World Record Attempt Forum
Moderator: bobbinsjob
GWR Record Attempt Flyer
Thanks to Huw Walford.
we have a new Flyer...
Right click and save to your PC, then print and distribute
Last edited by Frontera Administrator on Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
hey pete its too small so when you save it you cant blow it up 2 a4 as it goes all funny.
2L SWB 2" lift 31/10.5/15 MT's 12000lbs Winch
Hi Pete and Luke, I have just printed this of and it is small, can it be blown up in size but on a positive note it is very well made and worded. Well Done Huw, you effort is very much appreciated by us all Mate. ATB. Reeco
Ok, just uploaded a bigger copy..see above
before anyone jumps on me for the image size...remember im the site owner and have special privileges.. ..
looking good pete, got it saved and will be setting on the fronty inhabitance of swansea
2L SWB 2" lift 31/10.5/15 MT's 12000lbs Winch
Don't cross over into the Eastern side of Glamorgan or there will be words!! lol
Owner of 'Maisey Daisey' aka Frontera LWB 2.2DTLi! Model year 2000.
can i bring this post by steve1 to your attention
ouch.. .
i can see some 1 getting demoted from admin here hehe
2L SWB 2" lift 31/10.5/15 MT's 12000lbs Winch
on a side note omg your nearly at 10,000 posts carl!!!
2L SWB 2" lift 31/10.5/15 MT's 12000lbs Winch
looks like ive been told lol
2L SWB 2" lift 31/10.5/15 MT's 12000lbs Winch
i do spend a lot of time on here
Only joking mate!!
You are more than welcome.
Would love to catch up with you sometime!!
Owner of 'Maisey Daisey' aka Frontera LWB 2.2DTLi! Model year 2000.
Thanks Huw, looks great and as said before better worded than the first one I did. I used to speak proper England when I was a children
1996 2.8 SWB called VIPER
Members Ride section for VIPER
Comments on VIPER here
gwr attempt
hi all,when will date and location be known of attempt because i would like to be there but it depends on how it coinsides with my sons county rugby training schedule
Hi im steve j i drive a S reg (jan 98) 2.2 16v 5 door fronty
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text:
Compatibility Versus Unique Features
You have to strike the right balance between taking advantage of the benefits offered by special features and maintaining consistency.
Companies strive to maintain compatibility and consistency regarding the methods they use throughout their manufacturing environments. Consistent procedures minimize exceptions and provide one method of accomplishing a task that will work in all cases. This, in turn, minimizes potential for mistakes because employees don't have to remember or deal with multiple exceptions. Unfortunately, sometimes it can be difficult to balance compatibility and consistency with achieving the most efficient ways of doing things in the majority of—let alone all—situations.
Consider, for example, this somewhat far-fetched example that stresses the point:
You know that toolholders require pull studs to secure in the spindle and possibly the automatic toolchanger magazine. The machine will clamp on to the pull stud, keeping the tool locked in the spindle/magazine. You probably also know that pull studs vary among machine tool builders. If you have machines made by different builders, and if toolholders are shared among machines, your employees must constantly be concerned with having the appropriate pull stud on the toolholder before it is loaded into a machine. (We recommend color-coding your pull studs to minimize the potential for mistakes.) However, if you limit your machine purchases to one machine tool builder, you can maintain compatibility among the pull studs used on your machines, eliminating the potential for mistakes and the related problems.
Hopefully you agree that it would be silly to base your machining center purchase decisions solely on ensuring compatibility of pull studs. You must, of course, buy machines that work best for your company. While maintaining consistency is important, it should be but one of the many important criteria you use to make your buying decision.
CNC programming and machine usage methods are riddled with these kind of choices. Should you maintain consistency or utilize a unique feature that provides a special benefit? Sometimes it boils down more to personal choice than to any clear advantage of one method over another. In these cases, consistency should easily win out.
Consider the two ways of using cutter radius compensation. With one method, the programmer specifies the cutter centerline path, and the setup person enters the related offset value as the deviation from the planned cutter size to the actual cutter size being used. With the other method, the programmer specifies the work surface path, and the setup person enters the cutter's radius (or diameter on some machines) into the offset register.
While programmers may disagree with regard to which method is better, the benefits related to consistency will outweigh the minimal benefit one method has over the other; so pick one method and use it for all of your machines.
In other cases, it makes more sense to take advantage of a unique (possibly new) feature on one or just a few of your machines, even though it means that new methods will be required. Machine tool builders and control manufacturers are constantly improving, and coming up with features that make their machines better. The difficulty lies in determining whether the feature provides enough benefits to forego consistency.
A few classic examples include:
• Using fixture offsets (machining centers) and geometry offsets (turning centers) for program zero assignment, over assigning program zero in the program with G92 (machining centers) and G50 (turning centers).
• Using decimal-point programming over fixed format.
• Designating the size of circular arcs with an "R" word as opposed to using directional vectors.
• Using spindle probes (machining centers) and tool touch-off probes (turning centers) to assign program zero instead of manually measuring and entering program zero values.
In all of these cases, there are times when the advantages of using a (new) unique feature outweigh the benefits of maintaining consistency among (usually older) machines.
As stated, it can be difficult to strike a good balance. You have to decide whether it is more important to maintain consistency or to take advantage of newer or better features. Like machine tool builders and control manufacturers, CNC users must also strive to get better. So you must be careful and make wise decisions. You must avoid the potential of becoming stagnant by maintaining older, lesser efficient methods just for the sake of consistency. On the other hand, you must not get caught up in utilizing all of the latest and greatest new things just because they are possible.
Let your decisions be benefit-driven. New and unique features must provide clear and measurable benefits in order to win out over maintaining consistent methods.


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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida's voting problems were thrust into the worldwide spotlight Tuesday night during the president's State of the Union address.
Just hours after a 102-year-old Miami woman was honored for waiting three hours to vote, state lawmakers in Florida moved on a bill to fix Florida's voting problems.
Desline Victor waited patiently as the president spoke, a virtue that served her well while trying to vote last November.
"She was told the wait to vote might be six hours," Obama said. "As time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say."
Obama honored Victor for her dedication to the voting process.
"The crowd erupted in cheers when she was finally able to put on a sticker that read 'I voted,'" Obama said.
A long ballot and a cut in early voting days are to blame for Victor's wait. The problems were created by a change in state law.
Just hours after the president's speech, a house committee at the state Capitol passed a reform bill. It would allow elections supervisors to restore early voting to 14 days on a county-by-county basis.
The Florida Senate also has an elections bill. Senate President Don Gaetz talked about how his chamber plans to fix the voting problems.
"Most counties in Florida had a flawless election, and some just keep on having flawed elections," Gaetz said.
He said there isn't a one-size-fits-all fix.
"Not everybody has the same problems. Early voting problems in Miami-Dade are very, very different than early voting problems in Holmes County," Gaetz said.
With both chambers pushing election reform and the governor changing his tune on early voting, Florida's next election will likely look a lot different.
The bill passed by the House Ethics and Elections Subcommittee on Wednesday would also limit ballot questions to 75 words.


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agriculture, corruption, Economy, environment, experiments, exports, farmers, finance, Genetic engineering, GM wheat, GMO Ban, GMOs, greed, Japan, Kansas, Lawsuits, Monsanto, Oregon, pollution, Science, South Korea, U.S, United States, USDA, wheat
The next wave of farmer backlash against Monsanto has just been unleashed by Ernest Barnes, a wheat farmer in Morton County, Kansas. He filed suit this week in the U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas, alleging that Monsanto's genetic pollution has financially damaged himself and other farmers.
Barnes' case appears to be well supported by the facts: Last week the USDA announced the shock discovery that genetically engineered wheat strains from Monsanto's open-field experiments had escaped and spread into commercial wheat farms. Almost immediately, Japan and South Korea cancelled wheat purchase contracts from the United States, and more cancellations are expected to follow. The more countries reject U.S. wheat due to GMO contamination (genetic pollution), the lower wheat prices will plunge and the more economic damage will be felt by U.S. farmers.
Monsanto now a confirmed genetic polluter
GMO wheat (i.e. "GE wheat") has never been commercially grown in the United States… at least not on purpose. Experimental fields were approved by the USDA and planted across 16 U.S. states. Until now, it was not known that these GE wheat experiments escaped their designated field plots and began to spread as a form of self-replicating genetic pollution.
Read more important information here: http://www.naturalnews.com/040625_lawsuit_Monsanto_genetic_pollution.html


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Presentation Days for TAE40116
Face to Face
A two day face-to-face block, where eligible students enrolled in the Cert IV TAE (TAE40116) complete their final presentations and assessments.
tell us the dates you'll be available using our online form & we'll try to find a solution that works for you
Course Dates
|Location (Brisbane)
|Start Date
|Places Left
|Brisbane - Murarrie
|Mon, Nov 02, 2020 (7:30am)
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|Brisbane - Murarrie
|Wed, Jan 27, 2021 (7:30am)
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Course Details
Presentation days are held over a two day block, with each student delivering 2 x 40 minute presentations. In addition, students must also conduct assessments throughout the presentation day blocks.
The presentation day block is included in the course fee for Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40116).
Students who are deemed not competent may incur additional charges.
This is the final assessment piece for your Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40116).
Your presentation must demonstrate the competency against the following criteria:
- Organised resources and set up training environment ready for delivery
- Conducted delivery of training program (minimum of 2 x 40 minutes per session)
- Used effective communication skills, group facilitation skills, presentation skills and interpersonal skills to convey learning outcomes, information, instruction, demonstrate skills and make learners comfortable and engaged in learning
- Used communication that was clear, concise and understood by the learner
- Used terminology that was appropriate and commonly used in the industry
- Used the diversity of the learners as training resource to support learning across all learners
- Informed learners at the beginning of the training sessions of the details of the program such as learning outcomes and expectations
- Used time-management skills to follow the session plan, ensuring the pace of the learning is suitable to the learners, but still achieving the learning outcomes in an appropriate timeframe
- Used different delivery methods and techniques such as questioning, coaching and providing feedback to support the learners and encourage effective participation and allow for learners to seek clarification on learning content
- Observed and monitored learner cues and behaviours, and used active listening techniques and changed delivery to suit learner requirements
- Engaged with the learners ethically at all times by delivering their training session in line with relevant jurisdiction privacy, EEO, anti-discrimination, WHS (etc) legislation
- Summarised training program at end of delivery to reiterate learning outcomes
Mandatory Prerequistes
- Only participants who have been marked as competent in their major portfolio are eligible to book in for their final presentation days.
- The presentation days must have a minimum of 8 participants confirmed in attendance (see Assessment Requirements for TAEDEL401 - Plan, organise and deliver group-based learning). Where the minimum has not been met, our Sales and Service Specialist will contact you to discuss alternative options.
Student Links
I completed a Cert 4 TAE40116 with Pinnacle. The trainer Mary-Ann and training material were excellent. It was a really intensive course and even though we were all mentally exhausted at the end of the 10 days I can genuinely say that I came away with a high degree of knowledge and confidence in moving forward and applying all I learned in this course. Once again two thumbs up to Mary-Ann!


text:
Dr. Conrad Murray is on trial in the death of Michael Jackson – but the lasting verdict to emerge from the case could speak louder to how the King of Pop is remembered.
After four days of often-heartbreaking testimony last week, how Jackson died is threatening to overshadow how he lived.
The jurors, Jackson's family and fans around the world heard the disturbing tape of his slurred, desperation-filled voice. We saw the picture of Jackson's corpse on hospital gurney. We read the testimony of how his two elder children witnessed the maddening chaos in the bedroom of Jackson's rented Los Angeles mansion before he was declared dead on June 25, 2009.
These sad glimpses into the music legend's death, at odds with happier memories of the most vibrant performer of his generation, bode to loom large in the collective memory. Michael Jackson fans are once again left to grapple with a jarring split between image and reality.
Before the trial, the primary public record of Jackson's final days came via "This Is It," the posthumous documentary patched together from rehearsals for the concert comeback that was never to be.
He appears painfully thin in the film, but comes across an artist in control of his craft. During Murray's trial last week, prosecutors introduced emails from concert director Kenny Ortega, who revealed he had to wrap Jackson in blankets to quell his chills just six days before the storied entertainer's final breath. "He was like a lost boy,'' Ortega wrote concert promoters.
There's a danger that Jackson, much like Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe, will be remembered by some more for the tabloid-friendly details surrounding his death than for his talent, especially as the march of years puts distance between his prime and the present.
That would be particularly tragic in the case of Jackson, who spent 44 of his 50 years in the limelight, his pop genius and generosity shining amid behavior that was at best, eccentric, and at worst, by some accounts, unspeakable.
It's telling that even during what must have been one of his lowest moments – that rambling May 10, 2009, recording – all Jackson could talk about is how he'll be remembered.
"When people leave my show, I want them to say 'I've never seen nothing like this in my life,''' Jackson said.
He said wanted to concertgoers to leave London's O2 Arena believing him to be the "greatest entertainer in the world."
The trial may very well determine whether he'll have the final word.
Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.


text:
On the other hand, if I did this I'd likely die from exhaustion, or break the TV.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wii Fit Boxing
On the other hand, if I did this I'd likely die from exhaustion, or break the TV.
9 comments:
- CrownedwithVictory said...
I can just see you taking a picture "for your records". LOL
- August 14, 2009 at 10:08 AM
- Barb said...
I don't have a wii, but my favorite piece of equipment at the gym is the punching bag! When my kids are stressing me (I have 3 boys), I tell my trainer I need to kick/punch the bag a few times. Then when I get home I feel much more patient with the boys.
- August 14, 2009 at 10:35 AM
- Hair Bows & Guitar Picks said...
I was thinking a picture of my ex would be nice :)
- August 14, 2009 at 10:50 AM
- The running yogi said...
I agree with Hair Bows. I would also like to use a picture of a physician I work with who sees less than one patient an hour in the ER. That's a new record.
- August 14, 2009 at 11:55 AM
- betty said...
I read both stories that I hadn't read before (Mrs. Idiot and the drug rep one). They were hilarious! I hope one day you do find out what Mrs. Grumpy does with all those tomatoes; perhaps she makes bombing raids on some of your "less than ideal" patients?
I'm sure that Wii boxing is a good way to relieve some of the stress of dealing with the people you need to on a daily basis
- August 14, 2009 at 12:21 PM
- Maha said...
Sometimes the seething rage leaves you completely uncoordinated - you end up viciously punching the air and then falling down, mildly hurting yourself which only amplifies the rage. Not that I'd know from experience or anything... 0_o
- August 14, 2009 at 1:38 PM
- Grumpy, M.D. said...
Maha- Been there, done that.
- August 14, 2009 at 1:43 PM
- Unknown said...
OH I WISH you had written this yesterday!! I would have gotten a picture of this for you!
Today is bulk garbage so its gone but...there was an "old fashioned type" 60 inch big screen tv in front of my neighbors yesterday. The screen had a hole in the middle and it was shattered. When I asked my neighbor what happened. He just shook his head and said, "Wii Bowling". LMAO!!
- August 14, 2009 at 1:52 PM
- Stephanie Faris said...
There was a website at one point that allowed this...you put a picture up of anyone you chose and you clicked it with your mouse and bloody spots and bruises appeared where you clicked.
- August 14, 2009 at 4:02 PM


text:
Rolex Daytona 6265
This Rolex has undergone a thorough inspection of accuracy, functionality and condition to determine the level of reconditioning required to meet our strict standards. It has also been referenced against technical documents and manufacturer records where available to ensure authenticity and a clean history.
Product Description
|Approx. 43 years
|Product code
|Case size
|Case material
|Yellow Gold
|Bracelet material
|Yellow Gold (Oyster)
|Dial type
|Champagne Baton
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Rolex Daytona 6265


text:
No mercy: What Alston can expect
I have some things in common with Andrew Alston, the UVA junior charged with the November 8, 2003, murder of volunteer firefighter Walter Sisk. Like Alston, I once was a UVA student. And, like Alston, I too was charged with murder.
In 1990, I was convicted of the 1985 double murder of Derek and Nancy Haysom, the parents of my then-girlfriend, Elizabeth Haysom, in Bedford County. So I know precisely what Alston is going through as he prepares for his trial, and I know precisely where he will almost certainly end up: right here with me, in the "big house," where I have spent nearly 18 years. Given my experience, perhaps I can offer some useful reflections on Alston's future.
To begin with, let me crawl out on a limb and make a risky prediction: Alston will be found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to the maximum term of imprisonment, 40 years. Hardly any other outcome is conceivable in a high-profile trial of upper-middle-class Caucasians like Alston and me. Why? Because our cases provide unique opportunities for demonstrating that all defendants are equal before the stern bar of the law.
The ugly truth is, of course, that "equal justice for all" is not exactly a hallmark of the U.S. criminal justice system. According to the 2000 Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, this country imprisons Caucasian-American males at a rate of 900 per 100,000, but African-American males at a rate of 6,838 per 100,000. South Africa, by contrast, kept only 851 of 100,000 of its black men behind bars in the last year of apartheid. According to a 1998 book, Crime and Punishment in America, in Washington, D.C.– the capital of the "land of the free"– half of all young African-American males are in prison, on probation, or on parole.
These figures will undoubtedly come as a great surprise to readers of this newspaper, even though they are available on-line to anyone interested. My point is that no one is interested. No one wants to look too deeply into the reasons why America's vaunted legal system locks up one particular race at such obscenely disproportionate rates. Like the elephant in the corner of the room or the crazy aunt in the attic, this national disgrace must not be mentioned in polite company; we must all look the other way and pretend not to notice.
Against this background, it becomes politically impossible for courts to treat the occasional well-off Caucasian defendant with anything but the utmost judicial harshness. At trial, Alston may demonstrate some mitigating evidence, but the judge will not be able to show him the slightest mercy. If he did, someone would ask why the great mass of African-American defendants were not afforded similar clemency. And then everyone would be forced to take note of the elephant in the corner, the crazy aunt in the attic.
So expect the months leading up to Alston's trial to be punctuated by a series of press leaks by police and prosecution, all designed to make the accused look like the worst monster to walk the halls of UVA since– well, since me.
No one can be allowed to think that Alston might simply be a troubled young man who made a tragic mistake. Any possible compassion for him must be squelched. Then the court can crush Alston with a 40-year sentence, just like all those poor African-American defendants whom we are not permitted to see as individual human beings either.
That kind of justice has a price, of course– not just for the convicted criminals sent to the penitentiary, but also for a society that has persuaded itself that mercilessness is synonymous with justice.
And what will Alston's life be like if, as I predict, he receives the maximum term? For starters, he can expect to lose weight behind bars. During the week in which I'm writing this article, inmates at my current facility received two means per day for four days in a row, as a cost-saving measure. Budgetary cutbacks have also reduced correctional education to little more than remedial reading classes, so Alston will soon be bored out of his skull. Except at night, when he will probably be raped by his cellmate.
According to former Virginia Attorney General Mark Earley's testimony before the U.S. Congress in July 2002, "anywhere from 250,000 to 600,000" of America's 2.1 million prisoners are forced to have sex against their will each year. The result is an HIV infection rate of 8.5 percent in New York's correctional system, which– unlike Virginia's – tests its convict population systematically. By comparison, the estimated infection rate for the civilian U.S. population is 0.3 percent.
"Soft," young, middle-class Caucasians like Alston are by far the most sought-after prey of prison rapists, as I can attest. In 1991, shortly after my arrival at an adult correctional facility, I was sexually assaulted and only barely escaped actual penetration. The ensuring years, until I reached my mid-30s, were filled with daily sexual harassment and propositioning– which is why I became a weightlifting and fitness fanatic. An alternative method for preserving his virginity that Alston may wish to try is conversion to Islam; the Muslim Brothers take care of their own. But he had better not ever let them suspect that he is faking it.
This, then, is how Alston will spend the next 38 years, for Virginia's "truth in sentencing" statute requires prisoners convicted of certain violent crimes to serve roughly 95 percent of their sentences. There is no parole, no time off for good behavior beyond the five percent, no chance of early release. When Alston leaves the Department of Corrections, he will be 59 years old.
During my own nearly 18 years behind bars, I have known a great number of inmates who have served more than 25 years, and a considerable handful who have spent over 30. While I admire some for preserving much of their sanity and humanity for so incredibly long, the truth is that all these long-term prisoners are psychologically damaged. In fact, the majority are completely broken by despair, or embittered to the point of spiritual death, or officially diagnosed as mentally ill.
But even those few friends of mine who have not lost the battle of the mind and heart, who can still think rationally and feel humanly, are
well, a little touched in the head. Not dangerous, mind you, but
odd. Peculiar. That's what 20 or 30 years of prison do to a man.
When Alston is released in 2041, the state will give him $25 and a bus ticket back to Charlottesville– and literally nothing else. He will not receive any assistance in locating a job or an apartment. And unless a kind-hearted staff member helps him far beyond the call of duty, he will not even be issued a picture ID.
Because Alston's parents will have died many years earlier, he will have no contacts in the community to which he returns, no familiar face, or safe haven. For him, as for so many ex-prisoners, freedom will actually be a very frightening prospect– which helps explain the national recidivism rate of 67.5 percent. Three years ago, I knew an inmate who was so scared of leaving that he had to be physically forced off prison grounds when his time was up.
Whether all of this constitutes justice, a fair price for Andrew Alston to pay for allegedly taking the life of Walter Sisk, I leave to you. I also leave you, as an afterthought, the not-inconsiderable expense of imposing this kind of justice: roughly $19,000 per inmate per year, even with only two meals per day. Because Virginia locks up so many Andrew Alstons for so very long– in fact, this state has nearly twice as many prison inmates as the entire nation of Canada– Virginia taxpayers face an annual Department of Corrections bill of $831 million.
Meanwhile, this state's K-12 education budget faces a $1 billion shortfall, and public colleges urgently need an additional $400 million– not for new programs, but simply to maintain current standards. "Every time you open a prison, you close a school," Victor Hugo noted long ago. Justice has a price– not only for Andrew Alston, but also for his former fellow students at UVA.
Strangely enough, there is an alternative to destroying Alston's life with a 40-year sentence and a huge bill to taxpayers– an alternative that has been proven to work. A look overseas shows us that all other industrialized countries, without exception, imprison their criminals at rates l/6 to l/15 as high as the U.S. Yet those nations all report almost exactly the same crime victimization rate as America.
That victimization rate, 21-24 percent, appears to be an inevitable and unalterable concomitant of advanced economic development, from Japan to Canada, from the U.S. to Belgium, from Australia to Italy. Whether one locks up as many people as America or as few as Finland (50 per 100,000) apparently makes no difference at all in terms of public safety.
Of course, Finns are denied the pleasure of seeing fellow citizens receive a nice, stiff, 40-year prison sentence; in fact, only a tiny percentage of Finnish inmates serve even 20 years behind bars. On the other hand, all citizens of Finland are entitled to free public healthcare and a free university education, both at a higher level of quality than that available to the great majority of U.S. citizens. That, too, is a kind of justice– an alternative to American-style justice.
Perhaps one day, a long time from now, the US will change its concept of justice and join the rest of the civilized world. Maybe. One thing is certain, however: If that day ever comes, I will see it from the inside of a prison cell. And Andrew Alston may well be my cellmate.
Jens Soering is a German citizen and former UVA honors student serving two life sentences for double murder. His first book, The Way of the Prisoner: Breaking the Chains of Self through Centering Prayer and Centering Practice, was published in November.


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I want to start this by saying that I rooted heavily for the Wovles to draft Corey Brewer. From the beginning of the SEC tournatment last year, I thought Corey Brewer could be a Josh Howard-type player with potential to be even more (honestly, during the NCAA I was thinking his game resembled Scottie Pippen). I was at a Buffalo Wild Wings with my buddy Benny Gunz watching the draft. When Yi was taken with the 6th pick, I was pumped because I knew we would take Brewer. (That's actually a lie. Part of me was terrified that we were going to take Spencer Hawes). Sure enough, we did. The Buffalo Wild Wings went crazy with applause.
What is my opinion on Brewer now? Honestly, it's still the same. I still think he can be a good player in this league with time. This is why, without making it an insult to Brewer, I think the organization should send him to the NBA Development League.
First thing's first. I did not realize how thin Brewer was. When I first saw him in the preseason, I thought he looked thinner than the kids in the "Well this is Christmas" Christian Children's Fund commercials. Did he look that thin in the NCAA tournament? Probably not because he was up against 18-22 year olds. Second, when you draft a player in the first round on talent and, in Brewer's case, speed and defensive ability while knowing the offensive skill set is a work in progress, that's what you get. Brewer has height and the speed to guard a lot of people in this league, but his offensive skill set is still raw. At Florida, he got a ton of open looks and on-on-one situations because of how dangerous every player was on that team from 1-8. Obviously, that's not the case with the Wolves. However, the three glaring holes in his offensive game are ball handling (which inhibits his ability to get to the hole), consistent jump shooting and confidence. His passing skills are actually more mature than I thought, but given the style of play at Florida, I'm not surprised.
The team can't expect him to develop playing him 20 minutes one night, 0 the next, then 9 after that. Conversely, with his game the way it is right now, Brewer can't reasonably expect a spot in an 8 or 9 man rotation, especially on a team congested with shooting guard/small forward tweeners. However, he plays superior defense in almost all respects to his counterparts on this team (save Gomes if matched up on a more physical player) and the skills he needs to work on can be developed (hopefully?).
So why not send him to the Development League? Isn't that what it was made for? The kid needs minutes and he needs them in games. I've never seen a NBA DL game and I don't know what the rosters are like, but I'm assuming the players are either (a) NBA-level talents that are either too raw or lack the drive to elevate their games, or (b) hard-working players trying their asses off to make their dream of playing in the NBA come true. Either way, Brewer doesn't need the Bruce Bowens or Ron Artests of the world guarding him in order to work on ball handling, jump shooting, and, most importantly, confidence, but he does need work on those skills.
I also think it would set excellent precedent for the league. Has anyone ever sent a lottery pick down to the NBA DL? Is Gerald Green (18th pick) the highest to ever get sent there? I think too many GMs would be afraid that sending a lottery player down would be similar to admitting that the player is a bust. But why is this the case? When you only play 8-9 players a game, how can you expect a young, raw talent like Brewer to get any better. Like I said earlier, Brewer needs minutes, but a coach needs to put in lineups that can win a game. As much as I don't like the current coach, he's not making mistake by benching Brewer, and Brewer cannot complain about his minutes with the level of contribution he makes right now. Additionally, if a player is going to be a bust, won't you know for sure if he can't hack it in the NBA DL?
In short, I think it's time to use the NBA DL for what it is – player development.


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For a man, it must be hard not to judge "True Blood's" newest hunk, Joe Manganiello.
Towering 6'5" into the skies, he has the body of a Greek god, his torso a symmetrically perfect series of heavenly-blessed abs and pecs. He has the smooth, olive tan of a Portuguese soccer player and the square cut jaw line of an all-American hero. And then there are those eyes – a bewitching shade of brown that can flicker with hints of wonderment and magic or, in an instant, can turn steely, dark and brooding.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Rising Star: 'True Blood's Joe Manganiello
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The "True Blood" newcomer — and AccessHollywood.com's newest Rising Star — looks like the kind of guy who every gent in the bar wants to be, and every girl wants to be with — but that would be too easy, and simple is everything Joe is not.
He's the latest major casting choice in Season 3 of HBO's "True Blood," making his debut in the franchise this Sunday as Alcide Herveaux, a beloved character from Charlaine Harris' "Sookie Stackhouse" novels, but had he been a little more average and a little less inspired, Joe would today most likely be nearing the end of a career in professional athletics.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'True Blood' Season 3 Premiere
"My last high school football game, I ended up tearing [a ligament in my knee] against Joe Montana's old high school," he told Access from the "True Blood" set. "I could've continued on, but there were a couple of different factors."
The "different factors" were actually two roads for the then sophomore: One, he could opt to join some of his fellow Pittsburgh teen pals in using steroids and carry on on the gridiron. Or Two, he could explore less charted territory that involved "messing around with cameras" and acting, something he had been experiencing a mild flirtation with.
While the camera stuff was something Joe could do on his own, actually acting – in front of a Pittsburgh high school crowd that would include his former teammates and coaches — took until the very end of his four years.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: First Look: 'True Blood' Season 3
"'Oklahoma,'" he said of the musical that took his high school stage virginity. "There was a sea of letterman jackets in the crowd, which was kind of unheard of. It was all of my old football buddies that had come to check me out and also, my old linebacker coach [who had] picked on me for years because I wasn't playing football."
For those not familiar with Pittsburgh, it's also known as the City of Steel, made up of brawny men not as used to expressing their feelings as those in Joe's current home of LA. So as a high school senior, the budding actor was terrified of his ex-coach's response.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Totally Tuned In! The Stars Burning Up HBO!
"Honestly, after he came and saw the show, he grabbed me in the hall and I thought he was gonna make fun of me," Joe recounted. "He didn't. He said, 'I thought you were really great. I was wrong about you.'"
The converts came early, and after college – a bachelor's degree in fine arts – so did Hollywood, who cast him as Toby Maguire's high school nemesis, Flash Thompson, in "Spider-Man." Other roles followed – in TV shows like "One Tree Hill" (he played Sophia Bush's temporary love interest, Owen) and "How I Met Your Mother," but it's his turn as the werewolf Alcide – dark, with a mysterious past, and despite his brawn a tender vulnerability — in "True Blood," that's already turning heads.
"You know, it does feel different. It feels like a break," Joe said of landing the role in the HBO show. "It feels like what 'Spider-Man' was times 10.
"I think a lot of it has to do with the books and with the fact that there's all this built-in fan base for my character," Joe added, not quite ready to accept the value of early critical praise of his work as Alcide. "He's a favorite from the books, so [the fans] kind of jumped on board before I've even been on the show, which is amazing."
One fan already on board is Joe's former boss, John Feldman, frontman for the Southern California band Goldfinger – a group the actor used to roadie for during his on screen downtime – and one he parted ways with through murky circumstances.
"I think he got hired to do 'One Tree Hill' while we were finishing up the tour. So I mean that's the true reason," John told Access. "Two of the guys in the band were single and there is a possibility that maybe they were getting a little jealous that Joe was getting all of the cute girls. But… I don't believe that's Joe's calling in life — to be a roadie."
"My wife and I love the show, so we're super excited," John added of friend's new big gig. "I'm sure it will be amazing."
John will get a chance to check out Joe's "True Blood" debut alongside the Pittsburgh boy's parents – Susan and Charles (he flew them out!), this weekend in Southern California, where the actor is having a private premiere soiree for his loved ones.
"It's gonna be like, a deal," Joe explained. "Food will be served, I'll be feeding everyone so until they start getting deep into the drinks, they won't be making fun of me."
The "fun of me" part has nothing to do with his acting and everything to do with his nudity. Move over Eric, Jason, Sam and Bill! This season, Alicde might become "True Blood's" most clothes-free man.
"There's been a lot of laughs directed my way at table reads because of the amount of skin that I have to show," he explained.
While the "True Blood" sets may keep him cool, if Joe has his way, this Rising Star's future will include reprising a rather famous clothed role, although the suit would still feature his figure.
"I'm from Pittsburgh so the Man of Steel — it's the City of Steel, so that would go a long way back home," Joe said of his dream of wearing Superman's red cape. "I would imagine that maybe I could go to some Steeler games, or it would be easier for me to get tickets if I was the Man of Steel."
With his breakout role in "True Blood," he may not have to wait for that high-flying big screen role for those tickets.
Copyright 2010 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Access Extended: 'True Blood' Season 3 Secrets Revealed (June 8, 2010)
PLAY IT NOW: Access Exclusive: The 'Sex And The City 2' Ladies Brave The Sands Of Morocco
More from Access: [ Joe Manganiello Rising Star TV ]


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Love the Halograph Automatic but prefer chronographs? Introducing the Halograph Chrono Sapphire, powered by a Quartz Japanese Miyota movement. This features the same eye-popping design for this quartz iteration of the Xeric Halograph.
The Halograph Chrono looks complicated but is actually quite easy to read. As the halo hands float over the time display arcs, they encircle the numbers to show the time. The inner arcs display the hours, and the outer arcs display the minutes.
Xeric watches are designed in California and produced on an artisanal scale, making high-end mechanical features accessible to a broad cross-section of horological enthusiasts. Help ensure you're wearing the most interesting watch in the room!
Crystal: Domed Sapphire
Case Material: 316L Stainless steel
Case Size: 44mm wide
Case Height: 13mm
Movement: Miyota JS50 Japanese Chronograph
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Strap Feature: Built-in quick release
Strap Width: 22mm
**Important: Due to the impact of COVID-19 on fulfillment and shipping infrastructure, order delivery could be delayed up to an additional 3 business days for U.S. customers and an additional 14 business days for international customers**
Watches.com will cover the cost for Standard International Mail* (orders over $249+) and USPS Domestic First Class (orders over $99+). Not all countries are eligible for free international shipping. Upgraded shipping options (estimated transit times and rates) will be quoted during checkout.
Watches.com has been shipping worldwide since 1999 and we ship internationally daily! All orders are processed and shipped out by 5pm (PST) Monday through Friday on regular business days. Orders placed/received after 12:00pm (PST) will be processed the next business day.
Because customs fees vary by country, we do not collect duties during checkout. If duties are due, your customs agency will let you know when the package arrives in your country. It is your responsibility to pay these fees to your country.
Note: Per Casio's policy, Casio and G-Shock watches are not eligible for International Shipping. Any international order containing a Casio or G-Shock watch will be cancelled and all monies refunded.
We could all use some extra time. If your new, unworn item is not 100% to your satisfaction, you have 30 days from the original ship date to return it. To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused, unworn and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging. More details can be found on our Returns page. Unfortunately SISU and Vestal watches sales are final and not eligible for return.
*Unfortunately SISU and Vestal watches do not come with an international warranty as they are no longer in business. All sales are final on SISU and Vestal with no returns accepted.


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Summer Festival Season Begins: This weekend the Pagan Summer festival season officially begins! You've got Pagan Spirit Gathering in Illinois and Wisteria in Ohio both starting on Sunday, not to mention Eugene, Oregon's own Faerieworlds happening this weekend. At the beginning of July the recently relocated Starwood, now in Ohio, starts up. This year, The Pagan Newswire Collective, Proud Pagan Podcasters, and other Pagan media outlets have formed an official "media camp" at Pagan Spirit Gathering.
"In the tradition of the dedicated camping communities at Pagan Spirit Gathering we are forming Media Camp for the 2011 festival. This is a project organized by several Pagan media organizations, but open to all podcasters, vidcasters, bloggers and other folks who are active in Pagan media. As the PNC did last year, we will be coordinating our efforts, sharing our resources and ensuring that all media participants are respectfulof the privacy of PSG attendants. We are grateful that PSG is welcoming us back and we intend to maintain the relationship of trust and respect we have built with the Circle Sanctuary staff."
2010 was a huge step forward in coverage for Pagan festivals, and I hope the infrastructure being built at Pagan Spirit Gathering can be replicated at other large Pagan events. With a growing Pagan media recording experiences and stories, preserving memories, and sharing this unique culture with a wider audience. An audio and textual archive of Pagans coming together to celebrate and create community. A resource that could be a boon to future historians, academics, journalists, and seekers. I'm hoping to post updates from PSG as the week progresses, and we'll be seeing plenty of stories and interviews rolling out in the weeks following.
Llewellyn and COVR: A big congratulation to Pagan/metaphysical publishers Llewellyn on being named a finalist in five categories for the 2011 COVR Visionary Awards.
"The Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) is an organization formed by a unique group of businesses that deal in "Visionary Resources," and who work with and support each other as independent retailers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and publishers of visionary books, music, and merchandise."
The titles nominated for awards include Biting Back, by Claudia Cunningham, Planetary Spells & Rituals, by Raven Digitalis, Witchcraft on a Shoestring, by Deborah Blake, and Modern Wicca, by Michael Howard. Llewellyn's website is also nominated for an award. COVR's Awards will be presented on June 25th at the International New Age Trade Show (INATS) banquet in Denver, Colorado. Good luck!
Pagan Families is Born: A new website and resource on pregnancy and childbirth, Pagan Families, has just been launched. Founded by Sarah Whedon, the site hopes to "pool our collective wisdom about Pagan pregnancy and childbirth. Think The Pagan Book of Living and Dying for the childbearing year." Like many just-starting Internet ventures they are looking for contributors to help build and develop the site.
"Pagan Families seeks carefully written contributions on all aspects of Pagan pregnancy and childbirth. Examples of the kind of writing we are seeking include: scripts for conception rituals; theological essays on the ethics of reproduction; prayers to mother goddesses; Pagan sensitivity guides for birth professionals; personal essays on the experience of spiritual practice during pregnancy; reviews of Pagan-friendly birth resources; and Pagan birth stories. This list is by no means exhaustive."
So far Pagan writers and bloggers like Sierra Black, Lily Shahar Kunning, and Niki Whiting are planning to contribute. If you'd like to submit material, the guidelines are here. Good luck to Pagan Families, I look forward to seeing how this site develops.
Heathens Have Festivals Too: If you saw my top story and perhaps wondered if there were Summer events and festivals for the more Heathen-minded, wonder no longer! Kari Tauring, who recently joined the staff of PNC-Minnesota, is traveling to several Heathen/Northern/Nordic events, things, and moots this Summer and reporting back on her experiences. First up: Northern Folk Gathering.
"The childrens performance was a moment that the entire hall found exceptional. Here we are, modern humans of Nordic ancestry watching our children re-create the story myth of our deepest root. It is this realization that our ancestors are alive in our children that made this moment of the event a sort of pinnacle. Listening to each person in the hall raise a horn to their parents, grand parents, great grands…by name and by deed really marks a huge difference between general pagan events and heathen events. There is a deep understanding that we are creating the world for our children based on how healthy our relationships with our ancestors are. There is a sense in each raised horn that deep healing is going on in the family of origin issues we all face and that there is a commitment to maintaining a high level of functioning for our children's sake. I find this compelling whether at a small kindred meeting or a large regional gathering. This path is for our ancestors and our descendants, not just for us here and now."
Stay tuned to PNC-Minnesota for more updates from Kari, I'm glad we can benefit from her coverage of this often overlooked events and festivals.
Get Well Terry Dobney! In a final note, we here at The Wild Hunt would like to wish Terry Dobney, Archdruid of Avebury and Keeper of the Stones, our best wishes as he recovers from a stroke.
"Druid Keeper of the Stones Terry Dobney who traditionally leads a Pagan greeting to the rising sun will be missing from the Summer Solstice celebration at Avebury on Tuesday. Mr Dobney, 64,who lives in West Kennett and has who has been involved in the solstice celebrations at Avebury for more than 30 years, suffered a stroke and is currently recovering in the Great Western Hospital, Swindon."
Dobney was recently embroiled in a tabloid scandal in the UK concerning welfare fraud. Luckily, the Druid was cleared of all charges, and was able to return to his life and spiritual duties. Here's hoping he's back on his feet and able to lead ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Solstice at Avebury.
That's all I have for now, have a great day!


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Clean lines and simplified design define the Burton Kettle Pack's back-to-school personality. Big stuff like textbooks and lunch go in the large main compartment, while phone, pens, pencils, and keys stash away in the front accessory pocket. The padded laptop sleeve lets you safely transport your computer, and the cush ergonomic shoulder straps let you carry it all in ease.
- Padded Laptop Compartment [18in x 13in x 7in] [46cm x 17cm x 17cm]
- Laptop Sleeve [16in x 10in] [40cm x 26cm]
- Cush Ergonomic Shoulder Harness
- Adjustable Sternum Strap


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The scientific enterprise depends to a large extent on trust. Our researchers trust that the scientific knowledge on which they base their own research is reliable, scrupulous, objective and impartial. In turn, academics from around the globe trust that our researchers apply appropriate methods of inquiry and analysis, report results honestly and accurately and maintain high standards of ethics and integrity themselves as well.
This trust-based quality assurance system requires from everyone involved in research to behave responsibly and ethically. The responsible conduct of research is considered a key priority at the Amsterdam Business Research Institute (ABRI) of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam as a whole endorses the rules as formulated by the Royal Netherlands Academy for Arts and Sciences (KNAW), and as developed by Association of universities in the Netherlands (VSNU). At European level, the European Science Foundation (ESF) and All European Academies (ALLEA) have adopted an English-language code detailing the principles and rules relating to research integrity.
- VSNU code of conduct on academic integrity: Netherlands Code of Conduct for Academic Practice
- KNAW: Advisory Memorandum on Scientific Integrity
- The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity - ALLEA
Rules alone are not sufficient to ensure academic integrity; the rules have to be observed and translated into concrete measures. This is an area in which new dilemmas are likely to arise and they can only be met with an adequate response if they are the subject of discussion in the workplace. The Executive Board of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the Governing Board of VUmc have undertaken to organize and promote such discussions.
In education, too, the issue of academic integrity needs to be addressed since a university education prepares students for a career in research or trains them for jobs in which they work with the results of scientific research.
Partly with a view to developing educational programmes in this area, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and VUmc have established a chair in Methodology and Integrity, held by Prof. Lex Bouter.
Source: website Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (link)


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Texas A&M plant pathologist Erik Mirkov is fine-tuning a transgenic process which could help the citrus industry survive its worst scourge, the disease Huanglongbing (HLB).
Over the last six years, Mirkov, based at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Weslaco, has inserted multiple protein genes called definsins - found in spinach - into young citrus plants to create transgenic trees which act as a protective shield against HLB.
"Our greenhouse tests with spinach definsins in citrus trees reveal either complete immunity to HLB or extremely high resistance to the devastating disease," Mirkov said.
Mirkov explained his research during the 2013 joint meeting of the Caribbean and Pacific divisions of the American Phytopathological Society held in Tucson, Ariz., in June.
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A definsin is a natural protein found in all plants, insects, and mammals, including humans.
In the human body, definsins are part of its pre-formed defense system to keep microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) from causing infection. Definsins are found in tears and mucous, and circulate through the blood stream.
HLB is a major problem in all citrus-growing regions in the world, including most recently the U.S. The disease was found in Florida in 2005 and has spread to almost all citrus-growing regions in the Sunshine State.
HLB has spread westward, found in several Texas commercial citrus groves early last year. A single case of HLB was found in California last year in a residential citrus tree in the Los Angeles area. HLB has not been identified in Arizona citrus.
HLB is caused by the bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter which is vectored to citrus trees by the Asian citrus psyllid.
While HLB research is ongoing worldwide, there is no known cure for the citrus malady. Every HLB-infected tree eventually dies. Fruit from infected trees become misshapen and the flavor turns sour leading to unmarketable fruit.
Field test findings
Mirkov conducts his lab research in Weslaco. The transgenic tree greenhouse and field tests are underway at Southern Gardens Citrus, a citrus grower and processor in South Florida.
The tests include a screened psyllid greenhouse where large numbers of infected psyllids fly and land on the transgenic citrus plants, at much higher insect numbers and infection odds than a commercial grower would ever find in a grove.
The other test includes transgenic trees planted next to standard citrus trees in a commercial grove. The standard, unprotected trees are HLB infected with symptoms including yellowed shoots and leaves. The transgenic trees appear much healthier.
Laboratory tests confirm the transgenic trees have lower amounts of Liberibacter bacteria.
Mirkov is convinced that the transgenic tree could be a valuable resource to growers to help prevent the spread of HLB. Mirkov or his research sponsors make quarterly trips to Washington, DC to share his ongoing findings with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and USDA.
"The EPA understands that HLB is a crisis," Mirkov told the plant pathology crowd.
Mirkov is encouraged by the EPA's overall positive response to the transgenic research. The agency has made it clear that, in general, transgenic trees must be safe for the environment and the fruit safe for human consumption.
Mirkov and Southern Gardens have studies underway seeking any adverse effects on non-target beneficial organisms, including honeybees.
Mirkov said, "In the long run, I believe EPA and USDA will give approval to proceed forward."
If approved, Mirkov says the first commercially available transgenic trees could be on the market in two to three years.
Western Farm Press asked Mirkov about any possible consumer backlash over the idea of citrus consumption with a touch of spinach inside.
He responded, "Will my citrus taste like spinach or will my orange juice be green? Of course not. We are talking about a small piece of DNA from spinach placed in citrus."
Better understanding HLB
All eyes of the U.S. citrus industry are focused on research by Mirkov and others at the university, government, and private sector levels in the U.S. and abroad. Citrus researchers have traveled to HLB-infested citrus regions to learn about this devastating disease.
The western U.S. is the last major citrus-producing region in the world to get HLB.
Florida is the nation's largest citrus-growing area, mostly oranges for processing into juice. California ranks second where about two-thirds of the citrus is grown for the fresh market. Texas and Arizona rank third and fourth, respectively where most fruit is sold fresh.
The California, Arizona, and Texas commercial citrus industries have their eyes focused on the Florida experience to learn from its mistakes with the psyllid and disease. The first psyllid was found in Florida in 1997 and quickly spread like wildfire across the state.
Ron Brlansky, University of Florida plant pathologist, discussed the worsening ACP-HLB situation in Florida. Brlansky has 34 years with the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, working extensively on a wide array of citrus pests and diseases.
The first major mistake in Florida, Brlansky says, was failing to gain good psyllid control early on.
"We did not do a good job of keeping the psyllid contained in Florida, mainly due to the movement of plant materials," Brlansky told the group.
He says the most important grower effort against the psyllid is insecticide sprays. Some growers spray once a month – 12 times a year – which is expensive and not financially sustainable over the long haul.
A major concern, Brlansky says, is the fear of insecticide resistance to the psyllid.
On young non-bearing citrus trees, growers can apply three soil-applied systemic insecticides including imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin. Aldicarb (Temik) is no longer allowed for use on bearing trees since the registration in citrus was cancelled.
"We're trying to get growers to alternate insecticides to prevent resistance from occurring," Brlansky said.
HLB shuts down the phloem in the tree, living tissue which carries photosynthetic products to roots and developing shoots and fruit. As a result, the tree basically starves to death.
Brlansky discussed a new procedure – a nutrient treatment - tried by one Florida citrus grower over the last several years in a 90-percent to 100-percent HLB-infected grove. The grower gives the trees a nutrient cocktail of sorts, including about 20 ingredients.
The nutrient kick start allegedly has helped build new phloem in diseased trees; ahead of the plugging and collapse of the tree's original phloem tied to HLB. The grower also practices good psyllid control in the grove.
Remarkably, the HLB-infected trees are producing good fruit despite the HLB infection. The fruit is marketable.
A doubtful Brlansky inspected the grove and after close examination confirmed the trees were generating new phloem.
Suggestions for western citrus growers
Based on the lessons learned by the Florida-HLB experience, Brlansky offered these suggestions for citrus growers in California, Texas, and Arizona (when the disease is not widespread).
Keep the pathogen out. Regulate propagating materials to prevent introduction.
- Eradication if found early. Use good available detection systems.
- Reduce the psyllid populations; this is a big challenge.
- Manage the grove as if HLB is already present.
- Always use disease-free nursery stock.
- If HLB is found, remove the infected tree and treat the stump to prevent sprouts.
- If HLB is present, remove alternative host plants, including orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata) and box orange (Severinia buxifolia).
More good agriculture reads from Western Farm Press:
CCAGA maps almond cooperative's future
Hey, Lou, I want to buy a computer


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SMOS: the global success story continues
ESA's water mission is shedding new light on the meandering Gulf Stream, just one of the SMOS satellite's numerous achievements.
Launched in 2009, ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite has been helping us to understand the water cycle.
Over the past three years it has been providing more accurate information on global soil moisture and ocean salinity.
New results unveiled today in Spain show that SMOS is now providing new insights into the movement of the Gulf Stream – one of the most intensely studied current systems.
Originating in the Caribbean and flowing towards the North Atlantic, the current plays an important role in the transfer of heat and salt, influencing the climate of North America's east coast and Europe's west coast.
Salinity observations from SMOS show that warm, salty water being carried north by the Gulf Stream meets the colder, less-salty water transported southward along North America's east coast by the Labrador Current, mixing the water masses off Cape Hatteras.
SMOS can distinguish between and follow the resulting eddies that are 'pinched off' from the current and form little parcels of warm and salty water in the Labrador Current, and the colder, fresher water in the Gulf Stream.
SMOS is able to monitor this process thanks to its high resolution and frequent revisits. This is giving scientists a new view of how salt is exchanged across current boundaries – a key to understanding the 'conveyor belt' of global oceanic circulation.
These and other scientific achievements from three years of the SMOS mission were presented at a conference held today at ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre in Villanueva de la Cañada, near Madrid, Spain. SMOS was realised with special contributions from France and Spain.
"SMOS is the second Earth Explorer we have placed in orbit – and is delivering important new information on global soil moisture and ocean salinity for a broad range of applications," noted Volker Liebig, ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes.
The mission's Lead Investigators, Yann Kerr and Jordi Font, are the focal point of the scientific research of the mission and lead discussions on soil moisture and ocean salinity findings.
Unexpected results demonstrating the versatility of this collaborative European mission – like the findings on the Gulf Stream – were also highlighted at the event by Nicolas Reul from Ifremer, France's institute for sea research.
Surpassing expectations, SMOS data are being used to monitor Arctic sea-ice extent and thickness, providing daily coverage of the Arctic Ocean.
In addition, the satellite can determine wind speeds under hurricanes – such as last year's Hurricane Sandy that devastated parts of the US east coast – by measuring the microwave radiation emitted by rough seas.
Today's workshop included a welcome by the head of ESA's European Space Astronomy Centre in Spain, Álvaro Giménez, and a speech on the future of space technology in Spain by Luis Valero, Spain's General Secretary for Industry and SMES.


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Venezuela's Maduro would win vote if Chavez goes: poll
– Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro would win a presidential vote should his boss Hugo Chavez's cancer force him out, according to the first survey this year on such a scenario in the South American OPEC nation.
Local pollster Hinterlaces gave Maduro 50 percent of potential votes, compared to 36 percent for opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
Chavez made a surprise return to Venezuela on Monday, more than two months after cancer surgery in Cuba, to continue treatment at home for the disease that is jeopardizing his 14-year socialist rule.
He has named Maduro, 50, a former bus driver and union activist, as his preferred successor.
Capriles, 40, a center-left state governor who lost to Chavez in a presidential vote last year, likely would run again.
Chavez still has not spoken in public since his December 11 operation in Cuba. Venezuelans were debating on Tuesday the various possible scenarios after his homecoming – from full recovery to resignation or even death from the cancer.
There was widespread expectation Chavez would soon be formally sworn in for his new six-year term at the Caracas military hospital where officials said he was staying. The January 10 ceremony was postponed while he was in Cuba.
"The president's timeline is strictly linked to his medical evolution and recovery," said Rodrigo Cabezas, a senior member of Chavez's ruling Socialist Party who, like other officials, would not comment on when he might be sworn in.
Should Chavez be forced out, Venezuela's constitution stipulates an election must be held within 30 days, giving Capriles and the opposition Democratic Unity coalition another chance to end the socialists' lengthy grip on power.
Capriles, who crossed swords with Hinterlaces at various points during the presidential election, again accused its director, Oscar Schemel, of bias in the latest survey.
"That man is not a pollster, he's on the government's payroll," Capriles told local TV.
"He said in December I would lose the Miranda governorship," he added, referring to his defeat of government heavyweight Elias Jaua, now foreign minister, in that local race.
Opinion surveys are notoriously controversial and divergent in Venezuela, with both sides routinely accusing pollsters of being in the pocket of the other. But Hinterlaces successfully forecast Chavez's win with 55 percent of the vote in October.
Its latest poll was of 1,230 people between January 30-February 9.
Polls last year showed Capriles – an energetic basketball-playing lawyer who admires Brazil's centrist mix of free-market economics with strong social welfare policies – as more popular than any of Chavez's senior allies.
But Chavez's personal blessing of Maduro, on the eve of his last cancer surgery, has transformed his status and made him the heir apparent for many of the president's supporters.
As de facto leader since mid-December, Maduro also has built up a stronger public profile, copying the president's techniques of endless live TV appearances, especially to inaugurate new public works or promote popular policies like subsidized food.
He lacks Chavez's charisma, however, and opponents have slammed him as a "poor imitation" and incompetent.
Local analyst Luis Vicente Leon said that should Chavez die, Maduro would benefit from the emotion unleashed among his millions of passionate supporters in Venezuela.
"The funeral wake for Chavez would merge into the election campaign," he told a local newspaper, noting how Argentine President Cristina Fernandez's popularity surged when her husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner died in 2010.
Maduro already has implemented an unpopular devaluation of the local currency and said more economic measures are coming this week in what local economists view as austerity measures after blowout spending prior to last year's election.
In Caracas, the streets were quieter after tumultuous celebrations of Chavez's homecoming by supporters on Monday. A few journalists stood outside the military hospital.
Prayer vigils were planned in various parts of Venezuela.
"We hope Chavez will stay governing because he is a strong man," supporter Cristina Salcedo, 50, said in Caracas.
Student demonstrators who had chained themselves near the Cuban Embassy last week, demanding more information on Chavez's condition, called off their protest after his return.
Until photos were published of him on Friday, the president had not been seen by the public since his six-hour December 11 operation, the fourth since cancer was detected in mid-2011.
The government has said Chavez is breathing through a tracheal tube and struggling to speak.
Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived in Caracas on Tuesday in the hope of visiting his friend and fellow leftist.
Source: Reuters


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Now, Vanessa has moved back to the States, exhibited her work at PrintSource NY, and has opened up her online store! She uses her hand-drawn and digital skills, and incredible creativity, to design prints for interiors and fashion.
Vanessa has been an inspiration to me. I admire people who follow their dreams as much as she does in order to make dreams become reality. She is such an amazing designer, so please check out her store here!!


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Rockies + Bullpenwinkle
The Closer Carousel never stops; the only true accomplishment is knowing when it's going to start spinning dangerously like the merry-go-round at the end of Hitchcock's "Strangers On A Train," and if the carny is going to get to the shut-off valve in time or if the entire bullpen is going to get launched in the general direction of the cotton candy machine.
10 Comments
It looks like Franklin will be the Cardinals closer. They lost to the Phillies 1 to 6 but I don't care because Ankiel appears to be okay after slamming face first into the outfield wall.
A Hitchcock reference in a baseball blog… outstanding. Keep up the good work.
Mention of the the Peterson/Kekich "trade" recalls the 1978 trade between the Indians and Red Sox, whereby Rick Wise and three others were traded from Boston to Cleveland for Dennis Eckersley and one other player. The Eck had requested the trade because the Indians' center fielder, Rick Manning, was having an affair with the Eck's wife. Manning had stayed behind from a long road trip to heal from a cracked vertebra in his back and well, you know, one thing led to another…Manning eventually married the former Mrs. Eck. And Eck won 20 games that year. So that was good.
"…a Wife To Be Named Later."? HA! Too funny…The gathering of the baseball wives at the game had to be interesting. And, yes, I'm thinking of the scene in NAKED GUN where all the wives are sitting together knitting like in a little sewing circle at the game. ;D
One of my favorite closers of all time HAS to be the Cardinals' Bruce Suter – especially after he gave up those 2 extra – inning home runs to "my boy" Ryne Sandberg in June (or maybe it was July) of 1984! I will never forget that.
Pregame Press Briefing… larger nicer room than what is available at the White House.
the 2004 red sox maybe are in there.. I don't think the Whitesox should be there thuogh. They just had stupidly hot pitchers in the playoffs. I would throw the 2001 DBACKS in there.. Johnson and Schilling in their prime.
I see that the Royals beat the White Sox yesterday and, if memory serves me correctly (which it often does'nt), the Royals came in fourth in the AL Central last year. Are we looking at a resurgence? I thought of this while reading a posting on another website dissing the Dodgers and saying how they were looking forward to their favorite team playing them because it would be an easy win. Someone may be in for a rude awakening.
The best line I ever heard about a ballplayer's, uh, habits, was when Steve Garvey had, if I recall, children with two different girlfriends. Jim Murray's line was that Garvey waited until after he retired to start acting like a baseball player.
I recall Bowie Kuhn being "appalled" and apparently regretful that he could do nothing about Peterson and Kekich. Since he did nothing about anything else, why not that, too?
And somewhere Dick Young is fuming about this (probably literally, considering where he may be), and is trying to find some way to blame Jim Bouton for this as well.
Hello Keith,
Thank you for all the good work. Plus I joined mlb to watch all the games, finally!, and you have a blog…cool…
I can relate to francona's feeling of unease in new, but supposed to be, familiar surroundings.
Even in your enemies house there is comfort in the sameness when faced with a challenge.
I have faced this when, while staging large demonstrations the BLM or USFS has moved us.
You wouldn't think it would matter to pro's like us. But it does..
Like the Red Sox we overcame as well as there is no more strife, peace and goodwill have broken out…oh yeah, back to work…see yah!…


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This weekend was more or less governed by a lot of activity. Also, I realized that it had been over 2 weeks since I put up a post & much was overdue. This weekend started off with an awesome motorbike ride, then general guitar playing in the morning, post which we (Ekta, Rachita & me) went to Oh! Calcutta & had some awesome seafood – there was fried fish, steamed fish, awesome naans and some superb daal, etc. which was eaten. The evening was spent visiting the super car show at Mahalakshmi racecourse followed by alcohol & home made burgers which were spectacular. Also, what deserves a mention & please to note there will be a more detailed post on the same is the start of our own little business called Out of the Trinket Box – http://outofthetrinketbox.wordpress.com/ serving awesome cakes, cupcakes & more. Our 1st order delivered is as below "Hulk Cupcakes!"
Sunday morning started off with a bike ride towards Nariman Point, though on the way, parked right opposite the Trident (what used to be The Oberoi) were some awesome Vintage Cars! So I parked my bike next to them, and decided to have a look; post further probing, I realised that the same were gathering there as part of a Vintage Car Rally with over 100 cars taking part so I decided to hang there for a bit & take some pics & videos. After a while, there were a few Royal Enfields & Bajaj Avengers that came in which were also going to be a part of this rally.
Saw a few women riders beyond Ekta for the 1st time riding Royal Enfields. There were Cadillacs, Mercedes, Mini Coopers, Triumphs, Dodges, Aston Martins, Buicks, cars which looked like Archie's Jalopy, Rolls-Royce & many more. Also, the cool part here was that the accumulated crowd was allowed to go near the cars, see the interiors, click photographs & all without any issue from the owners; some of the owners were more then happy to talk about their cars to the fans inquiring. Later on, once the place was filled with cars & people, there was a roaring sound like thunder which turned everyone's heads towards Air India building as the sound came from that direction. En route towards the starting point of the rally came in the Harley Riders, only about 3 of them, though they sounded like an army. Immediately, everyone's attention switched to these awesome bikes. I also checked them out, contemplated in my head a lot about buying one, though then finally got onto my Bajaj Avenger & rode back home. I am going to try & put up images of the rally in a slide show below this post.
Got home all excited, showed Rachita & Mihir the pictures of the rally, spent time with Astro, watched Stargate Atlantis. Also watched a crazy movie called Upsidedown which has an amazing concept – 2 Worlds circulating a single sun with opposite gravitational forces connected to each other, so in effect people in world 1 see the people in world 2 inverted & people cannot travel to opposite worlds otherwise they wont survive for more than 30 minutes, pretty trippy I tell you. Post a full-on family lunch, I passed out for a bit, woke up & decided to go for a random joyride with Rachita towards worli seaface to see the Worli Festival, got home went for a bike ride again past peddar road & marine drive, felt super cool about the same :-), got home had some super JD (Jack Daniels i.e.), ordered-in pizzas & watched a super comedy called Here comes the Boom to end the day and a super weekend. Don't forget to check the awesome photographs of some crazy vintage cars!!!


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Former WWE Diva Michelle McCool spoke to MichelleMcCool.net regarding her experiences with Natalya. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
First meeting Natalya: "We kind of got off on a rough start (and I laugh about it now, we tease each other now). I remember we had a production meeting, and it was her first day there. I don't talk during production meetings, people don't generally say anything. She raises her hand and says she just wants to give everyone a tip on how to keep self-tanner on longer. At the time, I'm like, are you kidding me right now? She's got nerve! I wish I had some of that, just an ounce of it in me to just be like: "Yeah, I've got something to say!" That was my very first encounter with her."
Teaching Nattie how to "Wrestle": "Apparently, something got all over the Internet about me trying to teach her how to 'wrestle' and all of this other stuff -- which was completely false, as many things on the Internet are. But word got around, and there was nobody around the ring at the time, so it was just one of those things where 'who felt the need to go to the Internet and start this stuff?' It was just kind of shady. It was just kind of unspoken... there was a little bit of tension there. I don't know if she thought I did it, or if she did it. A couple weeks went by, we sat down and talked about it and actually became really good friends."
Polar opposites: "We have two very, very different personalities. I'm more reserved, soft-spoken, and I have to get warmed up to people before I open up to them -- and she's completely opposite."
Working with Nattie: "Obviously, she's a great worker. That's beyond words. She's constantly showing up to the ring -- you know when Nattie's in the building, because she comes running down the ramp, slides in the ring and tries to leg-pick or take them down in some form or fashion. Which is awesome!"
Storyline with Nattie: "So, it was pretty late in my career, right before LayCool broke up. She was definitely fun to work with, a total team player. She would come up with stuff she'd want us to use. She'd be like: 'Hey! Why don't you say this about me?!' And we'd be like... really? We did her dad's goatee thing, and she showed us all of that. She gave us other way on how to impersonate her dad, her or Bret. She was the one feeding us material, just showing us the type of business she's willing to do. She knows what's good for the business and knows that it's just a character on TV."
Trusting Nattie: "We could trust that the ideas we were pitching off one another weren't going to be automatically shut down because she was going to end up saying something else. We really worked together, coming up with storylines, how to keep things going, fighting for every pay-per-view, fighting to get on TV. She was always willing to do something above and beyond. She just got it."
Tables Match: "Our program ended at TLC. Fit Finley came up to us and told us we had a table's match, and we told him to shut up -- we didn't believe it. We were always told that WWE didn't want the girls to wrestle like the guys, your punches can't look too good, and you can't do punches or kicks, all of these guidelines, so we definitely didn't think we were going to get a Tables match."
Rehearsal for TLC/Near-death experience: "We had rehearsal the night before the pay-per-view, put some ideas together, go through some stuff -- and oh, my gosh! You can ask Nattie: I've never had a near-death experience in my life until that night. It was so super-scary. I remember I was going to pull Nattie up in the corner for my Faith Breaker, off the top turnbuckle. Somehow, I go to pull her up, and we both tumble over the outside. All I'm thinking about is protecting her, but I'm looking down and my head is about to land on the apron and I'm about to break my neck, literally. My toes are curled over the top rope, just so that I can hold onto the both of us... I can see in slow-motion, Randy Orton, who was at ringside, is running over to help. Fit is across the ring and can't help, and Arn Anderson was there -- literally, we almost died. It was absolutely terrifying. But did it stop us from doing it? No. We figured it possibly couldn't happen twice... right?"
Fighting for Nattie: "I remember fighting like crazy for Nattie to get the spotlight in that match, because not everybody was fighting for that. I thought: she's the one that helped us; she's the one that we were picking on during this whole storyline. She should be the one that pushes us through the table, she should be the one that gets her hand raised -- she should be the one that puts LayCool to shame. She deserves this. And it was like, this hard, hard battle. That was her moment and I don't think it would have been fair for anybody else to take that away from her or for anyone to try and take that away from her."
Source: MichelleMcCool.net


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The second-ever Vimeo Awards were held this week over in New York City. The award ceremony showcased the world's best videos from Vimeo and their creators. The evening was hosted by Reggie Watts and Beardyman, see some highlights in the video above. Listed below is the collection of the winning entires, it's a fantastic mix of the newest technologies, greatest musical performances, breath taking visuals, emotive storytelling and occasionally the funny and the strange. It's great to see such creativity being recognised and rewarded, along with the celebration of independent film-making. Let us know your thoughts on these awesome winners!
This Grand Prize winner was three-man team "Everynone" with their stunning video "Symmetry."
Winner – Lyrical: Symmetry by Everynone
Winner – Remix: Rear Window Timelapse by Jeff Desom
Winner – Experiential: Prie Dieu by Cokau
Winner – Narrative: Blinky™ by Ruairi Robinson
Winner – Action Sports: Dark Side of the Lens by Astray Films
Winner – Fashion: Mulberry 'Skirt' by
Winner – Captured: Sweatshoppe Video Painting Europe by Sweatshoppe
Winner – Motion Graphics: A History of the Title Sequence by Jurjen Versteeg
Winner – Documentary: Amar (All Great Achievements Require Time) by Pilgrim Films
Winner – Series: Often Awesome the Series by All Aces Media
Winner – Music Video: Manchester Orchestra – "Simple Math" by Daniels
Winner – Advertising: K-Swiss – Kenny Powers MFCEO by Caviar
Winner – Animation: Umbra (HD – 2010) by Malcom Sutherland


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happy weekend
Few places are perfect enough to want to live in day after day but I could abandon what I have if it meant starting over here, not to mention downsizing quite a bit. Every detail in so perfect and not overdone, I think it's the perfect send off for the weekend.
found here and here
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11 comments:
I love the herringbone floors and the posters.ReplyDelete
thats it. i am going home and purging. big time. this did it for me. done.ReplyDelete
thank you for the inspiration. i think i now have the strength to say NO MORE CLUTTER. :)
- AnonymousFebruary 19, 2011
As clear as lovely. Simply beautiful.ReplyDelete
Great floors and I love the balance of it all. :-)ReplyDelete
so clean and lovely. : )ReplyDelete
I absolutely love this apartment. It's small and cozy and best of all, not cluttered. I'd love to just move in.ReplyDelete
i love that, there are just about the perfect amount of 'things' - i could never go clutter fee, but cutting down isn't something i'm adverse to! clutter free home = clutter free mind apparently!ReplyDelete
- LeoneFebruary 20, 2011
Oh, i'm loving this so much! It's so clean and calming. It's making me itchy to decrapify my home! Thanks for the inspiration, it's lovely.ReplyDelete
hello!!! oh my this is beautiful!!! i relate myself with these small spaces because i also rent one this small! and this one is just inspiring!!!! i hope you had a delicious weekend!!! twiggsReplyDelete
Oh, woww! How beautiful! I would like to know where have you found those posters? Especially the colourful in the middle?ReplyDelete
Thanks! I enjoyed a lot!
Ville-this isn't my place, I don't know the source for the posters, sorry!ReplyDelete
Thank you for your comments, I love hearing from you!
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text: I've been a member here since May 2007 and this is like; my 43rd post: something like that. I was also a member of GoKingsGo.com from 2002 to 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20020605...:80/index.html <anyone remember Ducks fan Neal? Been to a few Frozen Fury trips sponsored by rinkrat. Aside from that I'm 49 years old and I've been following the Kings since the 70's. My best friend's family was from Canada and he was a huge Kings fan. He met Dave Taylor around '82 and got me a signed 8x10 b&w photo. Had it for years but I have no idea what happened to it. :( Obviously my favorite hockey memory is the 1980 US Team winning the Gold. 1993 SCF's were disappointing to say the least. But lots of great history, players, games, awards, Stanley Cup wins etc etc. Definitely think this current team has a SC or 2 left in them. GKG


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An agreement among five member institutions of the Mid-Missouri Association Colleges and Universities (MMACU) permits students from William Woods University to enroll in courses offered at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Stephens College, Lincoln University and Westminster College.
The enrollment exchange allows students to take advantage of specialized offerings at MMACU institutions. To qualify for the exchange, a student must be enrolled full time. Students are restricted to regular courses. Special workshops, adult education courses and correspondence courses are not included in the exchange.
Requests for MMACU exchange enrollment must be signed by the faculty advisor and approved by the Registrar. Credit and the grades are tabulated in the student's cumulative grade average. Registration guidelines, policies, and restrictions are available from the Office of the Registrar.
Borrowing privileges at MMACU member libraries are also available to William Woods University students. Students must obtain a letter of introduction at the Dulany Library circulation desk before visiting an MMACU Library.


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With Chip Kelly returning to Oregon and Alabama's Nick Saban staying put down south, the Cleveland Browns are looking to Canada for a new head coach.
Citing a pair of league sources, Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer reported that Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman of the CFL met with the team in Berea, Ohio, on Tuesday. NFL.com's Ian Rapoport later confirmed the interview, via a source with knowledge of the team's plans.
Trestman is a familiar name to older Browns fans after serving as the team's offensive coordinator in 1989 under Bud Carson, when Cleveland made it as far as the AFC title game on the arm of Bernie Kosar. The 56-year-old Trestman later worked with eight NFL teams over 17 seasons, crafting a reputation for his sturdy work with a string of passers including Steve Young, Jake Plummer, Scott Mitchell and Rich Gannon.
Trestman -- 64-34 with a pair of Grey Cup championships in Montreal -- interviewed with the Chicago Bears for eight-plus hours on Monday, a source told the newspaper.
The Browns also expect to interview Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Bruce Arians. Where they go from there remains a mystery. The team's brass spoke of finding someone to coach the Browns who could be counted on for seasons to come. It's not clear the team is any closer to finding that special someone.


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